The Rock Confirms He's In Shazam

Dwayne Johnson has spent months and months teasing a deal that he has been working out with the folks over at Warner Bros. and DC Comics, and as time has passed he has gotten more and more specific in his hints. Most recently he Tweeted an image of Superman, Shazam and Black Adam, suggesting that he would be playing one of the parts - but he still wouldn't specify exactly what was in the works. That pattern has continued today, as Johnson has confirmed that a Shazam film is in the works - a pretty huge reveal. But what he's not revealing just yet is if he's playing the hero or the villain.

This story comes to us from the Spanish-language site La Nacion, which has quotes directly from Dwayne Johnson talking about the upcoming comic book movie. While many of us just assumed that the wrestler-cum-actor would naturally slip into the film's title role, whether or not that will actually happen is being purposefully kept a mystery for now. While Johnson's comments were translated into Spanish, in English he said something along the lines of,

"It's the interpretation of a character from DC Comics. It's the story of Shazam, but I can't say if I'm playing Shazam or Black Adam...In this case in particular, I believe we will do [the part] justice. I'm putting my heart and soul into this role."

What makes this such an interesting development is that this isn't the first time that Dwayne Johnson has been linked to the role of Black Adam. A Shazam film was in the works at Warner Bros. all the way back in 2006, and director Peter Segal brought on Dwayne Johnson to play the central antagonist. Of course, that was eight years ago, and Johnson has proven himself as an A-list-level star in the time since. Because of his higher level of fame, many - including myself - figured that he would get the upgrade from villain to hero when the project came back around again, but apparently that may not be the case. It's worth noting that Johnson also told La Nacion that Black Adam and Green Lantern were his favorite characters growing up - making no mention of the heroic Shazam.

For those unaware of the comics, Shazam is actually the secret identity of Billy Batson, a young boy who can turn into his superhero alter ego just by saying his name (an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury). Black Adam, meanwhile, has spent decades as Shazam's arch enemy, but has also been written as a corrupted antihero. Dwayne Johnson would honestly be an interesting fit for both roles... and now a weirdly big part of me wants to see him put on a dual performance.

Knowing that Warner Bros. and DC Comics are officially making a Shazam film starts to give us a better understanding of what exactly they have planned for the growing DC Cinematic Universe, but what still remains unclear is exactly when we will get to see it. Will it be a pre-Justice League release, or is it a project that is being planned for years down the line? Hopefully more news will come our way soon.